Nordi Mukiele

With money burning a hole in their pocket following the €60 million sale of Naby Keita to Liverpool, RB Leipzig have announced the first acquisition of the summer with defender Nordi Mukiele arriving from Ligue 1 side Montpellier bringing another young French talent to the Red Bull Arena.

With the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Ibrahima Konaté and Jean-Kevin Augustin already at the club, the signing of 16 million Mukiele brings the French contingent in Saxony to four.

It has been quite a rise for the 20-year-old when you consider that just eighteen months ago he was playing in the French Ligue 2 with Laval. Having made his debut as a 17-year-old he attracted the attention of Montpellier, who snapped him up for a bargain price of just €1.35 million in January 2017.

Under the renowned defensive coach Michel Der Zakarian, Mukiele’s stellar development at pace as he helped Montpellier become one of the best defensive units in France. The Stade de la Mosson side finished 10th last season, but conceded just 33 goals- second only to champions PSG.

Manchester City and Benfica were reported to be closely monitoring him, so Leipzig’s capture of the highly-rated defender is quite a coup.

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